CAPITOL REPORT

Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, January 19, 2002

Davis signs bill raising guards' pay

Gov. Gray Davis has signed the first bill of 2002 -- a new contract for the state's prison guard union that could eventually cost taxpayers $1 billion in higher salaries and health and retirement benefits.

Over the five years of the contract, members will see their maximum salary climb to more than $73,000.

The new contract will increase prison guard pay by guaranteeing that guard salaries cannot be lower than $666 a month less than the pay of California Highway Patrol officers, who are also scheduled to get salary increases.

Since 1998, the 25,000-member guard union has directly contributed about $200,000 to the Democratic governor.

President Trump addresses nation after mass shooting at Florida SchoolWhite House

Assemblyman gives up bid for civil unions

Assemblyman Paul Koretz of Los Angeles has dropped a measure that would have created a civil union akin to marriage for gay and lesbian couples in California.

Koretz, a Democrat who represents the gay enclave of West Hollywood, acknowledged that the political reality of the 2002 election year spelled early doom for his measure. Moderate lawmakers from the Central Valley were unlikely to support the measure.

Although Gov. Gray Davis has said that California "is not ready" for gay marriage, he has not specifically ruled out signing a civil union measure. Davis last year signed a significant expansion of domestic partnership benefits, giving gay and lesbian couples more legal rights than in any other state besides Vermont.

Koretz plans to bring the legislation back next year.

Electricity use was cut by 6.7% last year

Californians cut their electricity use by 6.7 percent in 2001 compared with the year before, according to numbers released by the California Energy Commission.

The reduction fell short of Gov. Gray Davis' call to cut energy use by 8 percent during 2001, but the governor praised Californians for helping to avert the energy crisis by conserving.

In a press release, Davis noted that a program begun last year to encourage conservation has paid off. About 30 percent of the state's electricity users saved 20 percent on their power bills by cutting usage by 20 percent.

During peak hours, generally between 4 and 7 p.m. when consumers typically use the most energy, the state cut its usage by 8.9 percent. And the state's consumers did their best conserving last summer, slashing usage by 14 percent during peak hours in June.